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Feasibility of Biological Production of Hydrogen from Wastewater by a Two-stage Fermentation Process

Rapid development of renewable fuels is a critical challenge globally and a national research priority. Several biologically-produced fuels have emerged as potential alternatives to gasoline in the past several years. Of these, hydrogen is widely believed to be the ultimate energy carrier since it is abundant, clean, and can achieve high energy conversion efficiencies (~50-70%) in fuel cells. Although microorganisms naturally produce hydrogen either through photosynthesis or anaerobic fermentation, current biological technologies are not sufficiently efficient to produce a cost-competitive, alternative fuel. The proposed research aims to lower the cost of biohydrogen by utilizing available waste streams as feedstocks for anaerobic fermentation coupled with photosynthesis. This two-stage fermentation process would utilize the products of fermentation for photosynthesis, producing higher hydrogen yields and off-setting carbon dioxide emissions. These processes have not been combined to treat wastewater and produce hydrogen, and success would aid the development of a clean, renewable hydrogen economy.